Don't let my head explode in the new car!

I posted recently that I had finished two rather hefty audio books, First Family by David Baldacci and Long Lost by Harlan Coben, anyone who put some thought into it may have paused and wondered, "How did she listen to both of those and finish at the same time?" Well, no one asked, but I'm telling you anyway! The Navy bought me a car. In the course of my job, I do a lot of driving. For the last five years the Navy has just had me record my mileage and then would issue me a check based on miles driven. As the price of gas went up and up and up, my mileage check got fatter and fatter. Finally it got so fat, that it attracted the attention of the bean counters in the Navy and they/he/she decided it would be cheaper to buy me a car.
So I have a cute new red Ford Focus. But I still, much to the disappointment of the Navy, insist on having a life outside of work! And that life includes shuttling my children around in my regular old gray Honda Civic. So I started First Family (12 CDs)in my old gray Honda Civic, and Long Lost (7 CDs) in my shiny new red Ford Focus. This meant that every time I ignited an ignition, I had to take a few minutes and orient myself to a plot line. I'd have this moment of "where am I" and "Who are these people?" and when you add in the plot lines of the two or three print books I always have going at the same time, I had moments where I thought my head would explode! But, please, don't let my head explode in the new car because the upholstery is so clean and the car has such a nice smell...let it happen in the old gray Civic.

Trash talk

Me, the 44 year old somewhat out of shape old lady, spends my day surrounded by the thousands of young Marines and Sailors that make up our community and that patronize the military facility where I work. Sometimes they make me angry, when they curse in front of ladies or children. Sometimes they bring out my maternal instincts when they are sick or hurt and their own mothers are so far away. But sometimes they just make me laugh. Like today. As I walked from the hospital to my car in the parking lot I passed some litter on the ground, someones award ribbon fallen off of their uniform and a Trojan still in the wrapper ready to go. The pairing made me smile.

Take this job and ...

No not motherhood - that job can be frustrating but I am sticking it out! Not the marriage - I am a "'til death do us part" advocate - so maybe later I have to murder him but not yet. Not the laundress, housefrau, chauffeur, doer of good works - all taxing but fine. No - the JOB - the one that pays the bills. 40 hours a week for the United States government. I have a hard time fitting in my 40 hours a week. So while every other government worker in the world is thinking "Hooray! Labor Day - a three day weekend - hooray!" I'm thinking, "Thank goodness, Labor Day. I can go in to the office for a whole day and not have phones ringing and people stopping by and e-mails flying and I can get some work done. Hooray!" My job has this double edged sword of flexibility and personal responsibility. It's a joy and a drain. I am in a position where I can set my own schedule. Which means - I get to go to Mass each week with my school children, I get to go to the ladies Bible study that meets in the middle of the morning on Wednesday, when there's field day, open house, field trip, awards day - I'm there. And those things are what is important to me. But then it also means - I'm dragging myself back to the hospital at 9:00pm to do paperwork or prepare what is needed for the next day, I'm making phone calls during soccer practice, I'm up with the birds on a Saturday or Sunday sneaking over to the office for a few hours while my family sleeps, I'm looking forward to a holiday - because I know my husband will be with the kids and I can go to work. There is no one else who does my job. If I don't do my job, it doesn't get done. Families suffer, children don't get what they need. But sometimes being stretched so thin makes me think that my family suffers and my children don't get what they need. So despite being blessed by this job with flexible hours, good pay, great co-workers, and the ability to really help people in need - sometimes I still want to be JUST MOM!